iPad

I'm expecting to lie around a lot during my recovery from abdominal surgery. Since I may not even be comfy with a laptop on my lap, I splurged and bought an iPad 2.

I have to admit, it IS cool. So thin, so light, so pretty! (Of course it's pretty, it was designed by Apple.)

My husband loves his iPad and recommended lots of work-related apps:

Course Smart (access your textbooks as e-books)
Blackboard (access your online classes)
The CIA Factbook (a favorite reference tool)
Pages (like Word for the iPad)

He also recommended AppStart which introduces you to many useful apps (described by category) and Netflix (watch movies and TV shows, including every episode of Star Trek every made).

Of course, everyone suggested I download the Angry Birds game. ($%^& addictive game!)

So far, I love my iPad. I can't access the instructor tools in Blackboard so I'll still use my laptop for grading, but the iPad will be great for travel and for when I'm recovering from surgery. So far my favorite app is Netflix. I'm watching the BBC's new, modern Sherlock Holmes.

Cool Source: Science Daily

I've started reading a new web site called Science Daily. It has current articles on all aspects of science (health, medicine, astronomy, archaeology, technology, etc.). At the end of each article is the original source, usually a scholarly journal, and it shows you how to correctly site the Science Daily article (in MLA or APA format). Wow! What a fabulous site for science and research geeks (like me :).

How did I find this wonderful site? My buddy, Mitch Gann, frequently links to it in his Boomer Blog. Thanks, Mitch!

Here's an example of the neat articles in Science Daily:

Evidence Of Water Found Deep Within The Moon: Dampens Moon-formation Theory

ScienceDaily (July 10, 2008) — A Brown University-led research team has for the first time discovered evidence of water that came from deep within the Moon, a revelation that strongly suggests water has been a part of the Moon since its early existence – and perhaps ever since it was created by a cataclysmic collision between the early Earth and a Mars-sized object about 4.5 billion years ago.

Read the whole thing.

Be sure to scroll to the end to see how to cite the article in MLA or APA format. Cool, eh?

Is the Internet Changing the Way We Think?

I read an interesting article in The Flint Journal today: “Is the Internet Shortening Our Attention Spans?” by Allan Hoffman, Newhouse News Service. It refers to “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” by Nicholas Carr, July/August 2008 Atlantic Monthly. (You can also read it on Digg.com, with readers’ comments.)

Carr’s article is especially interesting, comparing the Internet to previous changes in the way we write (i.e., writing itself which Plato feared would destroy memory, the Gutenberg press, the typewriter, etc.). As a college writing instructor I'm always interested in things that influence the way we think and write, especially the tools we use. I’m sure the Internet is changing the way we think, and I imagine the life-long exposure of our younger students means they think about things in a way we older folks (i.e., over 40) can't imagine.

I'm still pondering Carr's argument that Google has made our attention span shorter; for example, he can no longer concentrate on long articles, let alone heavy-going literature like War and Peace. I wonder if he's read any of the Harry Potter books, or if he gave up after book three when they got -- gasp! -- lengthy and literary.

Maybe the Internet has made me a little impatient, but it hasn't hurt my attention span or my love of reading. I'd write more, but my summer booklist awaits!

My Summer Reading List:

J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment (Hardcover)
by Michael D. C. Drout (Editor)

Titanic - The Ship Magnificent Vol I: Design & Construction (Hardcover)

by Bruce Beveridge, Scott Andrews, Steve Hall, and Daniel Klistorner

Titanic - The Ship Magnificent Vol II: Interior Design & Fitting Out (Hardcover)

by by Bruce Beveridge, Scott Andrews, Steve Hall, and Daniel Klistorner

The History of the Hobbit (Hardcover) by John D. Rateliff

Robin Pagie's Victorian/Edwardian Murder Mysteries

I Want This Mac!

Apple e-mailed me this ad a few days ago. Think I can convince the university to buy me a computer that grades term papers for me? :)

If only it did grade term papers...

Podcasts vs. Lectures

In "Podcast Lectures for Uni Students" the BBC describes how "a lecturer at a West Yorkshire university has abolished traditional lectures in favour of podcasts." I find this idea simultaneously intriguing and horrifying.

I love listening to podcasts and would probably really like it if one of my teachers did this. One of my favorite podcasts, Podvet, is designed for veterinary students and other people who love animals. (Warning: if you visit this site you need to know there is at least one graphic photo of a dog's injuries. You can avoid this by subscribing through iTunes.)

As an instructor, however, I hate the idea of making podcasts. I can't stand listening to a recording of my own voice! I also get the impression that while creating a podcast is easy (especially on a Mac), editing can be time-consuming and hosting it can be expensive, especially if you need to keep buying more bandwidth. At our U that probably wouldn't matter since I'd post any audio files in Blackboard where only my own students could access them, but apparently bandwidth is a common problem with many podcasts.

In short, I'll continue to enjoy listening to podcasts, but don't expect to see them added to my classes any time soon!

Shades of Damocles

This week is spring break, a time when students traditionally travel to warmer climates to party. I much prefer to stay home, relax, rest, read, and catch up on movies. I'm doing some of that but I'm also doing a lot of grading. This is the dark side of teaching writing.

Here's what makes grading writing hard:

1. It's time-consuming. To do a good job and be fair, I need to make sure I'm not tired and cranky when I'm grading. That means as much I would like to work straight through and grade all the papers at once and get it over with, it's not a good plan.

2. Knowing I have ungraded papers (unfinished work) stresses me out. It's like the Sword of Damocles, or should I say "the stack of ungraded papers of Damocles"?

3. I get no sympathy from anyone outside of academia. If I try to explain why I feel stressed out and cranky my listener inevitably says, "don't assign so many papers." Hel-LO! I teach writing. I have to assign papers. You can't teach someone how to write by giving them multiple choice exams! I wouldn't survive the stress if it weren't for the support of my fellow writing instructors. (I don't think I've said this, but thanks you guys!)

Students usually don't realize how stressful grading is or how much work it is. I know my own workload should make me more sympathetic towards my students, but when they complain about the five papers they have to write for my class, I just point out that for every paper they turn in to me, I have 96 to grade. (4 classes x 24 students each = 96.)

Why am I blogging if I have so many papers to grade, you ask. Well, like all writers, when I'm under a lot of pressure avoidance kicks in. Perhaps you've heard the expression "No one has a cleaner house than a writer with a deadline." The same is true of grading. Also, I'm too tired to grade right now so I'm doing something I enjoy.

I am participating in study this semester on meditation and stress reduction. I'm afraid I'm really messing up the data. I find meditation relaxing if I don't have a lot of work to do, but I can't do it when I have a stack of ungraded papers hanging over my head. Instead of focusing on the meditation and relaxing all I can think about is how many papers I could grade it that amount of time. Finishing my work reduces my stress far more effectively than meditating. Does that mean work is a form of meditation? What a scary thought!

If feel stressed every time I have a batch of papers to grade, why am I complaining this time? Probably because I'm just tired and cranky this week. I don't know if something is setting off my allergies or if I have cold, but I feel under the weather and resent being sick during my spring break! Grading during break I expected and planned for, but being sick, especially during what should be my time to do what I want, annoys the heck out of me.

I'm sure I'll feel better soon, especially if I get a lot of grading done.

Why My Students Make Me Feel Old

Every year Beloit College publishes a mindset list to familiarize professors with what their freshman know and "to slow the rapid onset of 'hardening of the references,' in the classroom." All I know is that it makes me feel really old. Heck, I don't even understand some of the references on the list!

Here are few of the items, seen from the point of view of the typical college freshman this year:

• Ricky Nelson, Richard Burton, Samantha Smith, Laura Ashley, Orson Welles, Karen Ann Quinlin, Benigno Aquino, and the U.S. Football League have always been dead.
• Paul Newman has always made salad dressing.
• Computers have always fit in their backpacks.
• Stores have always had scanners at the checkout.
• There have never been dress codes in restaurants.
• They have always been able to make photocopies at home.
• They have always been able to make phone calls from planes.
• Yuppies are almost as old as hippies.
• There has always been Lean Cuisine.
• Bert and Ernie are old enough to be their parents.

Scary, eh? Not only do I have nothing in common with my students, most of them don't read for pleasure, or out of curiosity. I learned this when, while trying to get to know my students better, I asked them to name their favorite book or series, and most couldn't. The did have favorite movies; unfortunately they were crap like Dumb and Dumber. Thank God for Jo Rowling. Some of them now read more, thanks to Harry Potter.

No wonder they have a hard time relating to their college instructors, even the younger ones. Ah well, at least my friends and colleagues are old, too, so we can understand each other. :)